Founders

Melanie Eusebe

Chair and Co-Founder

Starting her career working at the branch of a local bank while completing her Masters of Philosophy, Melanie is now a Management Consultant/Strategist with over 18 years experience working for global brands including IBM and Ernst & Young, specialising in business transformation, and working with companies to identify strategic priorities for revenue generation and profitable growth.

Based on her extensive career experience, she is a professor at Hult International Business School where she has taught Global Operational Strategy and Organisational Design, Business Models and Architecture, and Leadership and Management

Advocacy

Passionate about uncovering role models and inspiring a new generation of leaders, Melanie has been an advocate of diversity and equality and has given several talks and media appearances on progression in the workplace.

Based on her advocacy work on the gender agenda, Melanie started the Black British Business Awards in 2012 to reflect the outstanding achievements and contributions of black business people to the UK economy. For her, these awards are a collaborative, wholly inclusive initiative that highlights inspiring role models, challenges outdated stereotypes, and most importantly, is a vehicle for economic empowerment and equality.

In addition to her advocacy work, Melanie is a writer and broadcaster, and regularly appears on news channels promoting economic empowerment, diversity and leadership skills while also writing for the Huffington Post and Management Today.

She is a regular speaker and lecturer and has delivered sessions at organisations such as Arup, BAFTA, BONY, BT, GE, IBM, EDF, EY, Network Rail, Sky, Inseec, UCL on topics ranging from Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership and Management, and Business Performance Improvement.

Alongside being the Chair of the BBBAs, Melanie serves on several boards including the Creative Industries Federation and London Works as an Ambassador for their initiatives and policy work, and still loves being a business consultant for both large and small organisations.

Sophie Chandauka

Co-Founder and Chair of the Judging Panel

Sophie is an award winning international corporate finance lawyer. She is passionate about inspiring future leaders and defying stereotypes by recognising, celebrating and shining a light on the often unsung outstanding professional and commercial achievements of individuals of African and Caribbean heritage worldwide.

She is the Chief Administrative Officer of Morgan Stanley’s Legal and Compliance Division in Europe Middle-East and Africa. She was previously Head of Group Treasury (Legal) at Virgin Money leading the execution of strategic M&A and corporate finance activity, including the acquisition of Northern Rock and the flotation of Virgin Money in 2014 and other deals in excess of £13bn. Prior to this, Sophie was a Senior Associate at global firm Baker & McKenzie in London, advising clients such as NIKE, The Body Shop, Macquarie Bank and others.

She has featured as one of the top 100 most influential Black Britons in the Power List and in The Lawyer Hot 100. Sophie was recognised as the UK Diversity Legal Awards Outstanding Lawyer of the Year in 2015. Sophie is a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and was appointed Honorary Fellow of UCL for professional achievements by the UCL Council in 2016. Also in 2016, Sophie was also recognised in the UPstanding and EMpower 100 BAME Executive Power Lists presented in the Financial Times in 2016 and 2017, and BAME 100 Board Talent Index 2016 in association with The Sunday Times and Green Park.

Sophie is Co-Chair of Morgan Stanley’s African and Caribbean Business Alliance and a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC) – the preeminent membership organisation committed to increasing the number of global black executives in c-suites, on corporate boards and in global enterprises. She serves on the Global Expansion Committee of the ELC. She is featured in the 100 Women to Watch Supplement of the Female FTSE Board Report 2017 and is a member of the Steering Committee of the 30% Club, a campaign in the UK with a goal of achieving a minimum of 30% women on FTSE 100 Boards.

Sophie has served on the Board of Trustees of Sentebale and Protimos. Sentebale was founded by Prince Harry and provides psycho-social supports for children infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS in southern Africa. Protimos is an organisation of development lawyers who provide access to law and legal education for indigenous and marginalised communities in resource rich emerging economies. Protimos is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative.

When Elevation Network first started out, nearly 10 years ago, there was an evident gap in the labour market, young black people were struggling to get jobs with big corporate organisations and those that did, as they progressed in their careers, were seldom recognised for their achievements.

We are proud supporters of the Black British Business Awards – in particular the Rising Star category because it puts the spotlight on role models of the future. The platform continues to inspire a new generation of young people to become trailblazers in their respective industries, despite the status quo.

Inspirational YOU is a London based Social Enterprise that coordinates and delivers talks and seminars featuring senior leaders and influencers. Our events have been supported by the UK Supreme Court, House of Commons, Viacom, Pearson, Channel 4 and ITV. We have featured respected leaders such Courtenay Griffiths QC, Dr Sandie Okoro, Vanessa Kingori MBE, Amma Asante MBE, Dawn Butler MP and Heidi Alexander MP.

We are supporters of the Black British Business Awards as we understand the importance and significance of shining the light on black talent and senior decision makers here in the UK. We are passionate about opening the door for the next generation and applaud Melanie and Sophie for providing a forum to celebrate black excellence. We both connect and open doors for our community and do so because we this is our legacy.

Success Talks promotes the development and advancement of Black and Ethnic Minorities (BME) professionals by supporting them to achieve their full potential through speaker series, events and conferences designed to develop their skills and mind set; empowering them contribute to the workforce in a purposeful and powerful way.

We at British Blacklist fully support The BBBAwards, we recognise it as such an important event, because it not only celebrates the well achieved British Black businesses, it presents a level of aspirational standards for black business to look towards.

We are often fed the stereotype that black businesses are unprofessional, unorganised and often fail. The BBBA absolutely smashes those stereotypes away.

I founded Bread + Butter Communications to fulfill my passion of working with individuals and organisations who are striving towards achieving success through a simple idea, with sheer grit, perseverance, commitment, and creativity. Therefore, lending my support to The Black British Business Awards which recognizes the important contribution made by African/Caribbean British business professionals, will always remain high on my agenda.

To add, as an individual who falls into this segment of a British entrepreneur of African heritage, it is truly inspiring for me to celebrate my peers who demonstrate great flair and talent in their achievements, showing the world that success and diversity in the UK go hand in hand whether in business, entrepreneurship, finance, arts, and media, STEM and more. I am truly honoured to support such a prestigious and much needed, awards programme.

Established in 2004 by Ronke Lawal, Ariatu Public Relations works with small businesses, start ups and entrepreneurs using PR tactics and tools to enhance their brand visibility, reputation and media presence. We specialise in PR, Communications and brand management for clients in a range of B2C industries; including lifestyle, food, fashion, fashion, beauty, hospitality and luxury FMCG.

Ariatu Public Relations specialises in excellence and is proud to us PR tactics and strategies to shine a spotlight on black excellence in particular.

The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) is the preeminent membership organization committed to increasing the number of global Black executives in C-Suites, on corporate boards and in global enterprises. Our mission is to grow the number of successful Black executives, domestically and internationally, by adding value to their development, leadership and philanthropic endeavors. This investment results in strengthening their companies, organizations and communities across the lifecycle of their careers.

We are looking to increase the number of ELC members who are from and/or work in the UK, along with hosting thought leadership and networking events to ensure that senior Black executives are well represented and the focus remains on the importance of Black/African Diaspora executive leadership in driving the global business community.

The ELC is proud to support the 2017 Black British Business Awards and our shared commitment to celebrating exceptional performance and outstanding achievements of black people in businesses operating in Great Britain.

Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company’s strength – delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately – is at the core of the Bloomberg Terminal. Bloomberg’s enterprise solutions build on the company’s core strength: leveraging technology to allow customers to access, integrate, distribute and manage data and information across organizations more efficiently and effectively.

“Established in 1998, MDC Group is an award winning office Interior Design Company delivering the highest quality Design and Build services. We pride ourselves in being a one-stop shop for both office interiors and commercial interior spaces. Our scope of work includes space planning, lighting, security, IT solutions, raised flooring, partitioning and far more. We provide a client specific, high quality and cost effective solution to all interior based problems; thus whether your space is in need of refurbishment, a complete fit-out or relocation, we get it done right at the first attempt. From inception to completion our team and subcontractors remain completely customer focused, enabling us to hand over a completed project on time and problem free. Our vast range of clients include world recognised brands such as: Boeing, Disney, Duke Energy, MTV and Sharp. As well as leading British brands including: The Conservative Party, Unite the Union and NHS to name a few.

#Your Vision Our Mission”

“At Virgin Money, our ambition is to build a bank that makes everyone better off: our customers, staff and shareholders, our business partners and the communities we serve. With a powerful brand, strong balance sheet, customer-focused culture and experienced executive team, we are a retail bank capable of delivering our different approach to banking to our customers and beyond. At the very heart of delivering on our ambition to make everyone better off is our colleagues. Our colleagues are fundamental to our business success and capitalising on what is unique about individuals and drawing on their different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences means we can truly connect with our customers. Virgin Money are proud to support the BBBAwards.”

“Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. Our success is built upon the diversity of our talents, ideas and experiences. That’s why we foster an inclusive workplace where all employees are valued and have the opportunity to reach their full potential. To drive innovation and deliver competitive advantage, we embrace diversity of thought, style, experience, culture, race, colour, gender, national origin, religion, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, citizen status, and veteran status. Diversity and inclusion shape our culture at Thomson Reuters. It is part of who we are and how we do business around the globe, every day.”

“As the worldwide leader in IT, we know that our edge doesn’t come from our technology, it comes from our people. We connect everything – people, process, data and things – and we use those connections to change our world for the better within buildings, across campuses, and around the world. Cisco is delighted to support the Black British Business Awards because we believe a diverse workplace leads to more innovation, better collaboration, and a vibrant culture where everyone is welcomed, respected, valued, and heard.”

Baker McKenzie brings together an instinctively global perspective, deep market knowledge and insights of more than 4,000 locally qualified lawyers in 77 offices worldwide. The Firm has a distinctive global way of thinking, working and behaving – “fluency” – across borders, issues and practices. Baker McKenzie has a long history of diversity. As the original multi-national law firm, a culture of diversity and inclusion is in our DNA. From our earliest days, one of our key beliefs has been that a diverse workforce is a stronger workforce because it makes us more reflective of our clients and the communities in which we work.

Baker McKenzie London’s multicultural network, BakerEthnicity, was established in October 2006. The
group provides a forum for both business services staff and fee earners to enhance their professional development, to network and to share innovation and best practice relating to BAME matters. Since its formation in 2006, BakerEthnicity has championed a range of initiatives which have contributed to an office environment which is genuinely collaborative, fulfilling, inclusive and diverse.

BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 74 countries, with more than 192,000 employees, including more than 146,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance.

In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the European leader in consumer lending.BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific

“At J.P. Morgan, we believe that cultivating a strong culture of inclusion is critical to our success. Our employees are our greatest asset, and we strive to attract talent from the broadest pool to foster innovation, creativity and productivity. We are proud to partner with the Black British Business Awards to showcase role models of Black heritage and underscore our commitment to diversity and inclusion.”

“Barclays is a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US. With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.”